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Late in the third quarter Sunday at Land Shark Stadium, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might have wondered the same thing Justin Smiley was.

With Chad Henne out with blurred vision and Pat White heading to the hospital with a head injury against the Steelers, what if Dolphins No. 3 quarterback Tyler Thigpen went down with an injury?

“I was asking myself that question,” Smiley said Monday.

But maybe Goodell, who is proposing an 18-game schedule, doesn’t think like that since he’s already pushing for players who risk so much every season to risk a little bit more to pad the NFL’s coffers.

“It’s going to take some adjusting for us, no doubt,” Smiley said of the inevitability of two more regular-season games. “Right now, I feel like a trainwreck. I would feel really nice after 18 games.

“I’m just a humble servant, so I’ll do whatever they tell me to do.”

Smiley has made a nice living in six NFL seasons. But for those millions, he’s endured a shattered lower right leg, a torn rotator cuff and a few shoulder surgeries by the age of 27.

Smiley also has joked a few times about nearly knocking himself during one of his signature pulls.

More games will lead to more injuries – and eventually more 40-somethings limping around trying to remember where they left their car keys.

More games will lead to more depleted rosters and potentially situations like Sunday’s where wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. could have been taking snaps as the No. 4 QB against the AFC’s top pass rush.

An 18-game schedule could create worse situations.

The Buffalo Bills, for example, placed 21 players on injured reserve this season, including five offensive linemen. The Dolphins had seven players on IR, including five starters.

It not only diminishes the product, but could force players into action that has little or no NFL experience in games played with playoff intensity.

“It’s going to be difficult,” Smiley said. “It’s going to be hard. It seems like Mr Goodell has the integrity of the league in mind. It seems he loves the NFL.

“I’m sure with whatever decision they come up with will be the right decision they feel is right for the NFL.”

Humble servant, indeed.

Goodell’s position on expanding the schedule is an easy one to take sitting in a luxury suite, though once in awhile the reality on the field hits hard.

After all, the 180-pound Ginn was one play away from facing a pass rush from 265-pound LaMarr Woodely – who had knocked out Henne – or 2008 Defensive Player of the Year James Harrision.

“That would have been awesome,” Smiley said with more than a trace of sarcasm. “I’d never seen that in a game.”